4.  On 15 January 1996 the applicant filed an action for protection of his good name and reputation with the Košice I District Court. He sued a limited liability company on the ground that a newspaper published by the latter contained articles alleging that the applicant had been an agent of the former secret police.
5.  On 9 January 1997 the District Court dismissed the action. On 7 March 1997 the applicant appealed. He further requested that he should be exempted from the obligation to pay court fees. The District Court dismissed the request on 24 July 1997. On 20 August 1997 the applicant appealed against this decision.
6.  The case file and the applicant’s above two appeals were transmitted to the Košice Regional Court on 9 September 1997. As the applicant’s brother was a judge of that court the Supreme Court ordered, on 25 November 1997, that the case should be dealt with by the Prešov Regional Court.
7.  On 11 February 1998 the Supreme Court excluded the Regional Court’s judge at the latter’s request. The case was assigned to a different judge on 26 February 1998.
8.  In March and in May 1998 the Regional Court requested the Košice I District Court to submit a judgment and the file concerning a different case in which the applicant was a plaintiff. The Regional Court received the judgment in question on 15 May 1998.
9.  On 20 January 1999 the applicant amended his action in that he reduced the amount of the compensation claimed.
10.  On 16 March 1999 the Regional Court accepted the applicant’s request for the action to be amended and discontinued the proceedings in respect of the claim which the applicant had withdrawn. On the same day the Regional Court quashed the remaining part of the District Court’s judgment of 9 January 1997 and sent the case back to the first instance court. It also upheld the District Court’s above decision of 24 July 1997.
11.  On 13 October 1999 the Constitutional Court found that the Prešov Regional Court had violated the applicant’s constitutional right to have his case examined without undue delays. In its finding the Constitutional Court found that the case was not complex and that no delays could be imputed to the applicant. The Constitutional Court further held that the Prešov Regional Court had not effectively proceeded with the case between 18 May 1998 and 16 March 1999.
12.  On 9 February 2000 the applicant filed a new petition to the Constitutional Court in which he complained about delays in the proceedings before the Košice I District Court. On 28 June 2000 the Constitutional Court delivered a decision in which it held that the above Constitutional Court’s finding of 13 October 1999 covered the overall length of the proceedings before the general courts to the date of its delivery. The Constitutional Court found no undue delays in the proceedings in the subsequent period, that is between 13 October 1999 and 28 June 2000.
13.  In the meantime, on 15 March 2000 the Košice I District Court heard the parties, and on 30 March 2000 it dismissed the applicant’s action. The judgment with reasons was served on the applicant on 4 May 2000. On 10 May 2000 he filed an appeal. On 12 May 2000 the applicant also appealed against a decision of the District Court of 26 April 2000 concerning the court fees.
14.  On 14 July 2000 the applicant was informed that the proceedings concerning his action were stayed as bankruptcy proceedings had been brought against the defendant company.
15.  On 21 February 2002 the Košice I District Court dismissed the applicant’s request for waiver of court fees. On 25 March 2002 the applicant appealed against this decision. He further requested that the proceedings concerning his action be resumed.
16.  According to a letter signed by the President of the Košice I District Court on 28 October 2002, the proceedings have been pending before the Prešov Regional Court since 17 September 2002.
17.  On 22 October 2002 the applicant filed a complaint under Article 127 of the Constitution alleging a violation of his right to a hearing without undue delay. The proceedings are pending before the Constitutional Court.